TD Bank adds $9 savings account fee, hikes others

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- As other banks recoil from the customer wrath they faced after attempting to introduce debit card fees, TD Bank is rolling out a brand new fee and hiking others.

Starting in December, TD Bank (TD) savings account customers who exceed six transactions in a billing cycle will pay a $9 fee each time they take money out of their account. Transactions that will count toward this limit will include online transfers from a savings account to another account, online bill payments and withdrawals over the phone. Customers will still be able to make unlimited withdrawals from their savings account through an ATM or a bank teller, however.

Starting in December, TD Bank (TD) savings account customers who exceed six transactions in a billing cycle will pay a $9 fee each time they take money out of their account. Transactions will include online transfers from their savings account to other accounts, as well as phone and debit card withdrawals.

According to a TD Bank spokeswoman, the new fee will only affect 1% of customers.

TD Bank said the fee is a result of Regulation D, which limits the number of transactions customers can make within a four-week period to six. According to the regulation, after six transactions the account can no longer be classified as a savings account.

A spokeswoman for the bank said numerous transactions also start costing the bank money and the new fee is a way to offset that cost.

But some customers look at the new fee as just another way banks are trying to gouge them.

"With everyone these days having to dip into their savings on a regular basis to transfer money to their checking to pay the bills - this is another way the Big Banks are making money," wrote one CNNMoney reader, who received a notice about the fee in the mail from TD Bank on Tuesday. "Credit Unions and Local Banks are looking more and more attractive these days."

At the same time, TD is hiking four of the fees it already charges -- all of which will also take effect in December. Receiving a wire transfer will now cost $15, up from $10. Getting a certified check will come with an $8 fee, up from the current $4 charge. Money orders will cost $5, instead of $4, and stop-payment fees will run $30, up from $25.

"Customers have shared with us what matters most to them when choosing a bank and given their feedback and the current environment, we took careful consideration when deciding to change certain fees," said TD spokeswoman Rebecca Acevedo. "With that, we modified peripheral fees that small groups of customers pay infrequently and we are educating them on how to avoid the fee."

While big banks like Bank of America, Chase (JPM, Fortune 500) and Wells Fargo may pause before announcing new fees after the debit-fee debacle, it's likely only a matter of time before they will be following in TD Bank's footsteps and trying out new fees again.

You may begin seeing new costs pop up early next year but in subtler ways: watch out for higher existing fees (as TD Bank is doing), slightly lower deposit rates and higher credit card interest rates, says John Ulzheimer, credit specialist and president of consumer education at SmartCredit.com.

Update: This story was updated on November 3, 2011 to include additional details about the types of transactions that will count toward the six-transaction limit. The percentage of customers that will be impacted by the fee was also added to the story.

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